‘We need to make America whole again’: Former president makes case for Hillary Clinton

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OKLAHOMA CITY -- In a gym packed with supporters, former President Bill Clinton painted his wife as a candidate that can unify the country and get things done, particularly for middle-class Americans.

"The real issue in this election is who is the best change maker," Clinton said, during a wide-ranging 25-minute speech. "We need a president who will take what has happened that is good and open the doors of prosperity and opportunity to all."

The country's 42nd president began by pointing out that the United States still faces problems, but says the country is on the road to recovery. His wife, Hillary, he says is the one most-prepared and best-equipped to lead that change.

"You need somebody who's gone toe-to-toe with President Putin, gotten a nuclear agreement and gotten 67 Republicans and Democrats to vote for it in the senate," Clinton said. "Everything she did as secretary of state or senator she got Democrats and Republicans to do it. Inclusive politics."

Bill Clinton repeatedly called on the crowd of 750 to embrace what President Barack Obama has accomplished and build on it, specifically listing the Affordable Care Act.

"I know a candidate from another party likes to say we're going to make America great again," Clinton said, referencing Republican frontrunner Donald Trump. "Let me tell you something, America never stopped being great again, never. What we need to do is make America whole again so we can all go together."

Clinton specifically pointed to the bombing at Oklahoma City's Murrah Building, telling the crowd the rest of the country should follow the example the state set in 1995.

The former president mostly talked in big ideas with few specific means to those ends, saying the country needed to further pursue renewable energy, promote small businesses, improve relations with police officers and provide high-speed internet in every community.

But the former Arkansas governor's most prominent points were the country's need to lower college tuition costs and reduce student debt, while also focusing on economic equality.

Though some in the crowd were there just to be in the same room as a former president, the majority were Hillary Clinton supporters who said their minds were made up ahead of the Democrats' Mar. 1 primary, which is open to independent voters for the first time.